Branding guru David Lipman to head creative division at Town

UPDATED, 11:12 a.m., June 23: David Lipman, who spearheaded the branding campaign for One Madison Park and worked with Extell Development’s One57, is joining Town Residential as chief creative officer of the company’s new Town Creative agency.

Lipman will focus on luxury real estate and international development clients in the role, according to a release from Town. The division will operate under an LLC and focus on working on long-term branding, rather than day-to-day deals and announcements. In that respect, the role differs from that of previous senior vice president of marketing Nicole Oge, a source told TRD. Oge departed the firm in April and joins Douglas Elliman to oversee all branding today, as The Real Deal reported over the weekend.

Lipman will oversee a team of 10, including individuals he previously worked with elsewhere in the real estate sector. A spokesperson for Town did not specify who will be on the team or where they worked with Lipman previously.

“Town is thrilled to add David Lipman’s legendary creative expertise to Town,” said Jeff Appel, president and COO, in a statement. “Not only will David deliver day-to-day leadership in our firm – adding immediate value for our brokers and clients – he will guide and control the long-term brand of Town as the luxury real estate and development firm worldwide.”

The hire follows a recent reshuffling of Town staff following a public spat between the firm’s owners Joseph Sitt and Andrew Heiberger, the latter of whom formerly held the CEO title. Since that legal wrangle was settled in March, Sitt has served as acting CEO and will remain in that role, a spokesperson for the brokerage told TRD.

Lipman, who intended to sell two fifteenth-floor apartments at One Madison Park for around $6.5 million early last year, was involved with a lengthy legal wrangling at the building in which the buyers were eventually allowed to take back their deposits. It turned out that Lipman never had possession of the condominium units but fought in court to secure them, alleging that the building owners had promised him the apartments as compensation for his branding work with the building.

Lipman, who formerly headed his own eponymous ad agency, suddenly shuttered the company in September last year. Purchased by Revolate in 2011, the company racked up debts totaling $9 million by the time it closed, sources told the New York Post in October. — Julie Strickland